Of course, it was not just any old car — only 14 of these cars were made and only 10 survive. And it was not just any driver who won those races — in those races, it was Juan Manuel Fangio (yes, that Fangio) in the driver’s seat.

It was a world record price for a car at auction, and the identity of the buyer was not revealed. But I wouldn’t be surprised if Mercedes-Benz, which once had the car in its museum, were the winning bidder. They would dearly love to have the car back home. More about the sale in this Autoweek piece.